I/O solution helps provide safe drinking water

Water plant modernises control system

Moore Industries-International has helped a water plant in central New York to maximise its effectiveness while reducing costs. The company’s NET Concentrator System helped the Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) modernise the control system at its water treatment plant in Marcellus, NY. Through the use of this distributed I/O and remote I/O solution, the OCWA has achieved improved efficiency.

The Marcellus facility treats and distributes water from Otisco Lake to roughly half of the OCWA’s nearly 350,000 residential customers. Automation systems at the facility control processes which ensure the quality of the treated water and compliance with state health department and EPA regulations. In order to update its operations and increase efficiency, the OCWA decided to switch from analog remote terminal units to digital control systems through an online SCADA system powered by ethernet and MODBUS network communications.

Moore Industries assisted the OCWA in implementing its new system by delivering isolated I/O modules which eliminate potential signal loop interference from the ethernet control network. The I/O modules within the NET Concentrator System contain ground loops or other individual aberrations locally, stopping them from impacting other readings at the site. The new system also reduced total wiring by transmitting process control and monitoring signals across a single digital communications link.

Installing the NET Concentrator System helped the OCWA solve several data collection problems. The ability to monitor the water filtration beds in real time has improved operator reaction time and increased efficiency. In addition, it is a reliable solution in reducing overhead related to hard wiring and maintenance.

“With modern I/O modules, there’s no reason for plants to rely on analog signals which require expensive wiring that often fails,” said Moore Industries Senior Field Applications Engineer Jim McConahay, PE. “Working with the OCWA, we’ve developed a solution that is scalable, cost effective and improves the ability of engineers to receive and analyse data and make mission-critical decisions.”